There's a cafe and bar on site. Cafe's fine for bacon butties in the morning. They do other stuff too but we chose to walk into Crickhowell (lovely walk along the river) for provisions. There's a good butcher and baker (and quite possibly a candlestick maker) in Crick and the place is well-disposed to Green Man. The whole premise of Settlers is to encourage people to get out and contribute to the local economy. Lovely pub down by the river too! We spent a pleasant hour or two there while the kids splashed about in the water.

When we chatted with Fiona last year I suggested it might be a good idea for local bakers etc to bring their produce on site but she rightly pointed out that the ethos of settlers was for us to get out in the local community and, like I say, it is a carcking little walk into Crick.

I'm thinking of doing settlers this year. However, it will just be me and my daughter - with the rest of our group joining us when the festival starts on the thursday. We normally camp in Family camping - what's the score with moving our tent from Settlers down to Family on Thursday morning? Also during the day what sort of activities are there to do onsite? - or is it a case of explore the local area stuff and then reconvene for bonfire/music/booze in the evening..?

One option you have if you have room in your car and can be bothered, Stablewill, is to take the rest of your group's tents with you and pitch them on Monday. Then when they arrive on the Thursday your camp will already be set up and nobody will have to move.

We loved Settlers last year, there was plenty to keep everyone any age entertained during the day, they had a sports day, there are outddor games kids can borrow and other stalls set up throughout the day, some free, some ask a small charge. We spent a day alone swimming in the river weir by Crickhowell, where there are ample pubs with beer gardens , pool tables ect.

The Settlers field, as we found out, turns into Family camping on Thursday, so no need to move tent at all. We had a great time and enjoyed it almost more than the Festival itself :)

It's not really a distinct area. It just sort of melds into family camping but it should be easy enough to move on Thursday when the rest turn up. There's plenty going on in the day for kids - workshops, organised games etc. Last year we spent Monday on site, had a wander into Crick on the Tuesday and stayed on site on Wednesday as it was too hot to move anywhere. Thursday spent with a coffee or a cider and a feeling of smugness, watching the new arrivals.

We're going to Settlers for the 1st time this year - 6th time in Greenman. Looking forward to a walk into Crickhiwel - never seem to have time when there for just a weekend! Do you have to walk through general camping to cross the river or is there another way from the settlers camp?

Thanks both. Planning to take some meals with us for the evenings but is it worth eating in the food place One evening?? Really looking forward to Cowbois & also Plu - and to see what the other bands are like!

All meals we had at Greenman were lush, loved the breakfast tent , best breakfast I ever had and can't believe we did not try it until the last day on way home ! Soem very yummy and lovely pubs with Beergardens in Crickhowell as well and its always good to support local businesses when out and about - use them or loose them x

Thanks both. We certainly plan to visit some local pubs for lunchtime refreshments! I'm going to check the freezer tonight to see if there are some meals there to take with us for Settler evenings - otherwise it'll be a cooking day tomorrow! Definitely no cooking for us from the Thursday onwards!! This will be our 6th year in Greenman but our 1st full week. Really looking forward to it!

Okay, after attending quite a few GMs in the past, we're doing Settlers for the first time this year so I have a couple of questions:

- Is the trolley hire available during Settlers, or does it only start on Thursday? Our tent is very heavy so if there are no trolleys, I need to remember to have an extra Shredded Wheat on Monday morning.- Is the Settlers parking just part of the blue carpark?